On April 21, 2016, a tragedy unfolded in Kansas City, Missouri, involving a 2-year-old girl named Shaquille Kornegay. Police were dispatched to a residence in the 2600 block of Lawn Avenue after reports of a shooting. Upon arrival, officers discovered the toddler unresponsive with a gunshot wound to the head. She was rushed to Children’s Mercy Hospital, where she was unfortunately pronounced dead.
The incident occurred while the child was at home with her father and other siblings, sparking an immediate investigation into how the toddler had gained access to a lethal weapon.
The circumstances surrounding the death revealed that the child had found a loaded handgun left unsecured in the home. Her father, Courtenay S. Block, who was twenty-four at the time, initially told investigators that he had been sleeping and woke up to the sound of his daughter crying, only to find her wounded standing next to the bed. He admitted to police that he noticed his gun on the floor near her. In the chaotic moments following the discharge of the weapon, Block reportedly attempted to hide the firearm in a bathroom floor vent, covering it with a child’s shirt, before carrying his injured daughter outside to seek help from neighbors.
Law enforcement officials quickly moved to hold the father accountable for the lack of safety that led to the child's death. Prosecutors initially charged Block with child endangerment, tampering with physical evidence, and armed criminal action. As the investigation deepened, the charges were upgraded to include second-degree murder and child abuse resulting in death. Authorities emphasized that the shooting was entirely preventable and highlighted the extreme danger of leaving loaded firearms accessible to children.
In January 2017, the legal proceedings against Courtenay Block concluded when he entered a guilty plea in Jackson County Circuit Court. He pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter, endangering the welfare of a child, felony child abuse, and tampering with physical evidence. This plea resolution held him criminally responsible for the negligence that resulted in the loss of his daughter's life, bringing a somber close to the case as he awaited sentencing for his actions.
